How to Write A Compelling Customer Service Job Description That Attracts Professionals
Finding the perfect customer service representative for your company can be a challenge. The problem is only amplified if you consider assembling an entire customer service team to handle incoming support tickets. However, whether cloud-based, eCommerce or retail, every respectable business needs dedicated customer service agents at its side.
According to Forbes, 96% of customers stated that customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a particular brand. Additionally, 81% of companies view customer servicing as a competitive differentiator, with 83% who believe that making customers happy is the key to revenue growth.
Professional customer service representatives will not only maintain your business’ reputation but also gather good feedback, solve support tickets, and help improve your brand image. As such, hiring the right talent for your support team is essential – so how do you do it?
How can you write a compelling enough job posting so that the right customer service professional knocks on your door? Let’s discuss that and more in the following paragraphs.
How to Spot a Customer Service Professional?
What makes a competent customer service agent? When it comes to hiring customer service professionals, it’s best to walk into the process with customer service goals in mind for your business. Based on Small Biz Genius, 13% of unsatisfied customers tell an average of 15 people about their poor experience with a product or service.
Likewise, 58% of customers completely abandon a brand after a poor customer experience, making customer service a high priority for sustainable business development. As such, the customer service professionals you hire should add to your brand’s reputation and authority, not detract from it.
To avoid a negative outcry to your customer support, the agents you hire should have a combination of the following skills and competencies:
- Solution-oriented mentality and proactive management of customer issues
- Ability to efficiently communicate and collaborate with other customer service agents
- Ability to empathize with customers and encourage their brand loyalty and advocacy
- Data management and analysis abilities to improve customer servicing going forward
- Ability to address and solve customer issues in an effective and mutually-beneficial manner
Writing Compelling Customer Service Professional Job Descriptions
#1. Your Company’s Overview
In order to appeal to professional customer service agents looking for employment, you should start by outlining what your company is all about. Write a paragraph about what your company’s business portfolio looks like, how long you’ve been operating, and what your long-term goals and values are.
You can also write about your employee experience and what your company culture is like, in short. Potential job candidates will likely want to know as much as possible about the company and its history, given that they would represent it.
#2. Break down the Responsibilities
Even though they may be “obvious,” take your time and carefully break down the duties and obligations of customer service professionals in your company.
Use bullet points and short sentences to list their responsibilities to ensure clarity and readability. Don’t omit anything from your job responsibilities list since a single point can be a deal-breaker for some job candidates. You should include typical workdays and hours in this section as well.
#3. Be Mindful of Employee Benefits
While employee obligations are a mandatory part of any job listing, you should also consider writing down some employee benefits along the way. According to Tech Jury, 37% of employees consider recognition important, and it leads to 59% less turnover due to higher employee satisfaction with the company.
Benefits such as holidays, employee rewards, team building, raise opportunities, etc. can be great motivators for candidates to reach out to you. Employee benefits will paint a pro-employee image of your brand in the eyes of customer service professionals looking for their next employment.
#4. List the Desired Qualifications
Once you’ve written down the minutia in regards to obligations and employee benefits, you should address the job candidate’s qualifications. In this section, you should write about what kind of experience you expect from potential candidates.
Don’t be afraid to ask for X amount of years in the field of customer servicing, as well as references to support those facts. Professionals who can provide you with bilingual customer support should be a top priority as they can extend your servicing capabilities.
Likewise, depending on the type of back-end database you use, you can also ask for competencies or familiarity with those software solutions.
#5. Include a Clear Application Deadline
Companies often omit the application deadline for various reasons. Omitting such detail from your job post only makes sense if you are looking for multiple customer service professionals to fill your ranks.
Even then, you should at least include a month or a year in which the applications are expected. However, if your positions are limited and you are pressed for time, make sure to write down an application deadline.
The deadline will encourage potential candidates to submit their resumes on time and start the selection process early. Failing to do so can cause you to receive applications long after you’ve already hired your customer service professionals.
#6. Consider Asking for Cover Letters
Asking for a cover letter from your job candidate isn’t unorthodox. In fact, it can help you pinpoint the right customer service professional for your company more easily.
A cover letter will clearly show you how someone might think, write, and format their thoughts and, most importantly – what drives them forward. Make it clear that the cover letter should be kept to a single page and that it should address the individual’s motivation for reaching out.
It can help you open new conversation avenues and questions during the interview, as well as eliminate any unviable candidates early on during selection.
#7. Prepare Questions & Scenarios for the Interview
Speaking of the interview, this part of the hiring process should be defined alongside the job description. Once you publish your job posting online, expect that customer service professionals will apply for it and that you will have to interview them.
Your interview can lean toward casual but given that you are looking for professional representatives, make sure that you create a good first impression. Write down a list of customer support centric questions and create fictional problem scenarios for your candidates.
Listen to their answers and train of thought carefully during the interview to determine whether or not they fit into your company’s culture.
In Conclusion
Keep in mind that your job description will effectively be the first impression someone makes of your company. Take time to write and format your job posting so that it accurately reflects your business to attract the right talent.
Start small and talk about your company before delving into the specifics of the position and its responsibilities and benefits. While you will undoubtedly receive applications from less than satisfactory candidates, the professionals among them will be very much worth bringing on board.
